Gold Cup: Day 2

Last night was Day 2 of the Gold Cup and with the games being played all the way across the continent in Los Angles the kickoffs were a bit later.  The first game kicked off at 9 PM EST and the second one at 11 but I am glad that I stayed up to watch the second one because it was a highly entertaining match.

First off I would like to vent a little bit about the awful commentary that was provided for the games on the CONCACAF website last.  I do appreciate that they are providing free streaming but it would have been nice if they got someone with a bit of experience and quality to commentate on the matches.  Even the majority of local broadcast journalism students in LA would probably have done a better job.  I turned the audio off and just watched the video feed and it made things a lot better.  The other problem I had was with some of the kit choices.  It was a bit of an assault on my eyes trying to watch the bright yellow and green of Jamaica taking on the green and red of grenada so at least all the blue and white of the second match between Honduras and Guatemala was a nice change.

As I just mentioned the first match was between Jamaica and Grenada and it continued the trend of lopsided score lines.  Jamaica were the clear favourites for this one since unlike Grenada they have actually scored a goal in the Gold Cup before.  The match followed the expected script as Jamaica were in control of things from start to finish as they only allowed Grenada one shot the entire match and even that was a fairly speculative effort.  Jamaica in the end scored 4 goals of their own but that was a fair few less then they probably should have been able to net based on the run of play.  They scored 4 chances but I can think of a handful of other chances that they wasted so I am not exaggerating to say that they probably could have won this match by 6 or 7 without much difficulty.  Ryan Johnson of San Jose was probably at the centre of most of the games excitement as he was one of 4 different scorers for Jamaica and also guilty of missing some real good chances as he managed to take 5 decent chances.  

The lack of conversion did not cost Jamaica at all though as at the end of the day the 4-0 win is going to be enough to see them sitting on top of Group B after the first round of play.  They will need a better effort in their next two games though as Grenada are clearly the weakest team of the bunch and will be lucky to even come away with a single point.  Personally I will be cheering for them to at least get one goal before the end of the group stage so they can put that behind themselves.

In the late game Honduras took on Guatemala in what was by far the best game of the 2011 Gold Cup so far.  It was certainly worth staying up to watch if you enjoy a good intense matchup between two teams that were going all in for every tackle and loose ball.  After seeing 14 goals in the first three matches it was nice to finally see a close contest.

The opening moments of the game saw what would be one of the best chances of the match as Carlo Costly missed an open net in the first minute for Honduras before Carlos Ruiz almost opened the scoring for Guatemala at the other end.  I quickly found myself getting behind Guatemala in this game as they were the underdogs and they were giving Honduras everything they could handle in this one.  Both teams were tackling hard and fighting for the ball so it was kind of surprising that the first half ended with no cards being handed out.  It was a half where as I was watching it I expected a goal to come at any moment as both teams were fairly open and the play was quite fast paced and back and forth.  The second half once again lacked for goals but it had a bit of everything else but shamefully Mr. Gutiérrez stole the show in the second half with the cards he handed out.  Personally I think that the red card which he gave to Guatemala's Gustavo on 61 minutes was more then a little harsh.  Gustavo did make a hard tackle but he got a lot of the ball and though I can see it being a foul and maybe a yellow card it was certainly very harsh to send him off for that.  Guatemala were just trying to hang on from then on but a second yellow card for Medina saw them go down to 10 men for the final 15 minutes of the match.  Guatemala did manage to find a way to hang on even if I was less then impressed with some of the stalling that they engaged in with several players going down like they were shot and spending several minutes on the ground.  In the end the game was 0-0 but it was a more exciting match then any of the high scoring games were.

For me the Honduras-Guatemala match was the real start to the Gold Cup.  Watching such an intense battle between two teams who clearly don't like each other got me really fired up for tonights 1812 Derby between Canada and the United States.  Then when the ref came in and ruin the game with a needless sending off I got even more fired up with memories of 2007 coming flooding back.  Remember the Carlos Bocanegra tackle on Julian De Guzman that was not a red card, well that tackle was about 20 times worse then last nights.  And that is not to even mention this:

Game Day!  Let's Go Canada! Go all 1812 on the Americans!

8 PM EST on Rogers Sportsnet One.  You better all be watching!

Results before Support: More Thoughts

I have spent a lot of time thinking about the comments that are made all to often that the Canadian Mens National team will get more support when it starts to get better results.  That has led to me trying to figure out where the line is going to be.  What does the team have to do to win over enough support to even fill up half of BMO field?

Let us imagine for a moment or two that Canada makes it to the finals of the Gold Cup or even wins it and along the way they beat a team like Mexico or the United States.  Would that be enough to win over any new supporters?  I would say no.  That might seem like the pessimistic answer but with the Gold Cup receiving limited coverage in the Canadian media, granted Sportsnet, the Score and CBC are all putting in a real effort, not enough people are going to realize that Canada is involved in a major tournament this month.  It is shocking how many people who play soccer and claim to like the sport I have come across that don't even know that the Gold Cup is underway right now.  So that is why I think that even winning the Gold Cup will not do that much to boost the support for the team.  I hope I am wrong and that a good showing this month means a few more people will come out and support the team this fall when it begins its world cup campaign but unless the team gets a lot more attention in the news people will continue to be oblivious to the fact that they are already now worth supporting.

I will say that if Canada wins somehow this month, or even makes a good run, it should still have more of an impact then the runs of 2000 and 2007 because the coverage is improved since then.  The games are all being shown on TV even if its on Sportsnet's alternate channel and a dedicated group of journalists and bloggers are doing their very best to get the word out.  That will all help, even if it is only slightly, and at this stage every extra fan that can be won over is going to be a boost in the long run since they might one day bring a friend along to see a match and that is the best way for support to grow in numbers.

Now to get back to my original point of what would it take to get a decent amount of support for the team across the country and in the Toronto area.  I think it would take the team making a serious push towards World Cup qualification.  If they were to make it to the final stages and for example have a match at BMO field against either the United States or Mexico with a spot in the WC on the line then that stadium would be packed.  Maybe even if the same spot is on the line and we are hosting a match against Costa Rica or Honduras we would see a full stadium with most of the crowd being pro-Canadian.  But the fact of the matter is that Canada is still probably some ways off from making a serious push to qualify for the world cup and any such push is going to require the team being almost unbeatable at home.  That creates a sort of catch 22 for the program since they need strong support to provide that much needed home field advantage but they clearly need to win more before they are going to receive that kind of support.

I guess the best that we can hope is that the group of people already dedicated to the cause continue to put in the hours of tireless work trying to support the team and with each passing game the crowd grows slightly larger.  It is going to take a lot of time but since support helps with results we need to give the best support possible to the team so that in the future more fans will come out who have been waiting to see results first.  Sadly though the people waiting to see results first are going to be missing out on a lot of good matches and great times.

Gold Cup Preview: The 1812 Derby

This weekend the CONCACAF Gold Cup kicks off in the States and the attitude around the Canadian mens national team is that they are in it to win it.  It is going to be a tough task for the Canadians who will almost certainly have to get past the Americans and the Mexicans if they hope to win for the first time since 2000.

For most Canadian soccer fans when you mention the Gold Cup there are two images that come to mind.  The first one, hopefully since its a lot happier, is of Canada winning it all in 2-0 thanks to goals from De Vos and Corazzin.  Canada triumphed over Columbia that year down in Los Angles but the high point of the tournament was almost certainly when Richard Hastings scored a 92nd minute golden goal to give Canada a 2-1 win over Mexico in the quarter finals.  The image of Hastings celebrating with his shirt on backwards is engrained in the minds of many Canadians and has to be among the happiest moments in our national teams history.  The other image that the Gold Cup triggers is one that makes passionate fans annoyed, angry, or sad but either way it is one that has stuck with them all.  The image comes from the semifinal of the 2007 edition of the tournament when Canada was playing the United States.  With Canada down 2-1 late in the match it appeared that Atiba Hutchinson had levelled the game.  He latched on to a through ball that had deflected off a defender before calmly slotting it home.  The only problem was that it was wrongly flagged for offside by the assistant and the referee went along with him.  I don't often remember who was the referee for a match that took place almost 4 years ago but I can tell you that on that day the refs last name was Archundia who has reffed in the World Cup but to me he will always be remembered for June 21, 2007 at Soldier Field in Chicago when he cost Canada a chance to beat the United States.

But that is all in the past now and 2011 gives Canada another chance to make a magical run to the title.  Several members of the current squad were on that 2007 team and they will be looking to get a measure of revenge when they take to Ford Field in Detroit on Tuesday to play against the United States in what is sometimes referred to as the 1812 Derby.  The Canadians open up with what is by far the toughest game of their opening round group stage.  After the match against the Americans on June 7th they have dates with Guadeloupe on June 11th and then Panama on the 14th.  With the set up of the Gold Cup it is not crucial that Canada beats the United States but for the momentum and national pride that would come from such a match it makes the game a lot more important.  Canada can get through to the knockout stages by finishing either first or second in the group or be one of the two best third place teams.  With only 12 teams in the whole tournament and 8 needing to advance to the quarter finals it is key that Canada finds a way to win at least one match in the group stage.

For the sake of seeding it will be beneficial to Canada to win as many games as possible since that will likely give them the easiest draw in the next round.  For example if Canada comes in second in this group which is where I would expect them to end up at the very least then they would get to play the winner of the group featuring Honduras, Jamaica, Grenada, and Guatemala which would not be the worst draw imaginable.  On the other hand though is Canada finds a way to win the group then they would get one of those two best third placed teams.

On paper the Americans have to be the favourites for the June 7th match.  They have won the Cup 4 times in the past, are fixtures in the World Cup, and are ranked 22nd in the world by FIFA.  As recently as 2006 the Americans were ranked number 4 in the world which was probably a very favourable ranking but it does illustrate the quality that their side possesses.  Canada on the other hand is probably ranked a bit unfairly at 75th.  Despite the apparent gap though the two teams have played each other fairly close in recent meetings but that match in 2007 was the last time they met at this level having avoided playing each other in the 2009 Gold Cup and in World Cup 2010 qualifiers.  If you look back into the history of this rivalry you will see that for the past 2 decades it really has been all the United States as Canada has not been able to claim a win over their neighbours to the south since a friendly back in 1985.  The players on this years team might not know when the team last beat the USA but they will know that it has been a long time and that is something they will be desperate to change.  A win against the USA could go a long ways towards increasing the profile of the mens national team in this country as well as erasing some of the pain of 2007.

For the Canadian National team the start of 2014 World Cup qualification in the fall is going to be the priority but if they can go deep in this months Gold Cup it would give them priceless experience as well as momentum going into that qualifying campaign.  So a win over the USA would be a massive boost in getting the ball rolling towards 2014.  Canadian coach Stephen Hart seems to be confident in his sides ability to go out and compete in a tough group and hopefully make a run into the later stages this summer.  He has a confidence which seems to have spread to the players who are going into the match next week with a belief that there is no reason why they can not come away with a positive result.  If Canada can put together a similar performance to the one they did against Ecuador and cut out some of the sloppy errors that came from lack of time on the field together then they really should be in with a chance of coming away with something.  It is clearly going to be a tough ask but if Canada goes out and gives its best there really is no reason why they can not get something from it.

Canada's roster for the Gold Cup has a nice mix of veterans who have played in the tournament before including members from that 2007 team along with some fresh faces.  De Rosario is the only player left who tasted victory in this tournament back in 2007 and he will certainly be looked upon to provide stability in the midfield and use his experience to be a leader in this team.  Along with Atiba Hutchinson he will be key in driving the team forward and controlling the tempo against an American team with a very strong midfield.  With a veteran core in the roster Hart will be looking to some of the fresh faces to bring new energy and a desire to prove themselves at this level which could help to boost the team and set the foundations for a brighter future.  The likes of Tosaint Ricketts and Simeon Jackson will want to show what they can do at the senior level to ensure that they will be with the national team for a long time to come.  Another new face who will be asked to contribute is Milan Borjan who seems likely to be the teams first choice keeper as he is set to make his competitive debut for the national team against the United States.  A strong showing from him in the Gold Cup would set him up as the number one keeper going forward which would provide some nice stability at the back end.

1- GK- Lars Hirschfeld | NOR / Vålerenga Fotball

2- D/M- Nik Ledgerwood | GER / SV Wehen Wiesbaden

3- D/M- Mike Klukowski |

4- CB- Kevin McKenna | GER / FC Köln

5- CB- André Hainault | USA / Houston Dynamo

6- M- Julian de Guzman | CAN / Toronto FC

7- M- Terry Dunfield | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC

8- M- Will Johnson | USA / Real Salt Lake

9- F- Rob Friend | GER / Hertha BSC

10- F- Ali Gerba | CAN / Impact Montréal

11- M- Josh Simpson | TUR / Vestel Manisaspor

12- M- Pedro Pacheco | POR / CD Santa Clara

13- M- Atiba Hutchinson | NED / PSV Eindhoven

14- F- Dwayne De Rosario | USA / New York Red Bulls

15- D- Dejan Jakovic | USA / DC United

16- M/F- Tosaint Ricketts | ROM / FC Politehnica Timiþoara

17- M- Simeon Jackson | ENG / Norwich City FC

18- GK- Milan Borjan | SRB / FK Rad

19- M- Marcel de Jong | GER / FC Augsburg

20- D- Jaime Peters | ENG / Ipswich Town FC

21- M- Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault | GER / SC Preußen Münster

22- GK- Haidar Al-Shaïbani | FRA / Nîmes Olympique

23- M- Issey Nakajima-Farran | DEN / AC Horsens

Canada v Ecaudor in Photos

 Me in the stands before the game.  Face paint crayon = itchy!

 Calvin outside of Gate 3...all alone

 Canadians warming up before the match

 We finally found some other Canadians!

 I hope they were praying.  They needed all the help they could get.

 Canada's Starting 11

 Getting the flags out!

 Red to the front of me, yellow to the right..and everywhere else

 Norwich's Simeon Jackson with the ball

 More Jackson, he had a solid game

 De Ro setting up the corner

 Party after the goal.  Canadian players just returning to the field

 Getting scolded for jumping into the crowd I guess

 De Guzman on for the second

 We all laugh at the yellow football team, the yellow football team!

 De Guzman!

 De Rosario taking a free kick

 De Ro and my man of the match pick Hutchinson

 Right after the match.  Ecuador still going after the ref

 Players coming over after the game to salute the home fans

Great bunch those Red Patch Boys are

Allez Les Rouges

So here it finally is.  The blog that I have been most looking forward to writing since I started this thing.  I finally get to talk about my first real experience in supporting local soccer and I honestly hope that even just one person reads this post and decides to come and join the already passionate, but far to small, group of Canadians who came out last night.

Firstly I would like to thank all of the supporters who were in the Canadian section with me whether you are a member of the Red Patch Boys, from the Voyageurs,  a die hard Canadian soccer fan for years, or like me were giving the team its first real chance.  That group of folks proved that they know how to have a good time and how to be loud for the better part of 2 hours.  That is a lot of strain on ones voice and I am sure that like me many of them have paid the price in terms of being able to talk today.  I also know that like me many of the others were very frustrated about how the rest of BMO looked last night but I will come back to that latter.  The Canadian supporters section actually reminded me of what sports were often like at my University the only difference was we were never out numbered at the school.  What was similar is the fact that we were a few hundred passionate people who managed to make a whole lot of noise.  In fact I would wager that the 3 sections in the corner of BMO field filled with Canadian fans made about 5 times as much noise as the roughly 10,000 folks wearing yellow.

The game itself was something to behold.  Do not be deceived by the fact that both Canada and Ecuador have poor rankings from FIFA they are both better teams then that.  It may not have been Argentina or Spain playing in terms of quality and it may have only been a friendly but there was not a single player in either side that did not play their heart out like they really wanted to win this game.  Canadian Coach Stephen Hart was not happy with the play of his players after the match but I would have to disagree with him and say that besides a very poor stretch at the start of the second half Canada was the better side and were able to control much of the run of play.  A lot of that control I would attribute to the excellent performance that Atiba Hutchinson put in at central mid.  The Canadian side were clearly experimenting with their formation but Atiba was one player who never got moved around and he showed that he really was the engine that is going to make this Canadian team go when they get to the Gold Cup.

Canada's two goals in the match came from players making their debuts for the national team.  In the first half Vancouver Whitecap's Terry Dunfield scored a very nice strike from 20 some odd yards out which he drove in to the top corner of the net taking advantage of the strong winds on the night.  The second goal came from Tosaint Ricketts who took advantage of the confusion caused by Julian De Guzman taking a quick freekick while many of the Ecuadorian players were swarming the ref to protest.  The freekick seemed to set up perfectly for Dwayne De Rosario to take it and try to score a heroic goal but instead it was taken quickly to Ricketts who took a couple of touches to settle the ball and move it on to his better foot before slotting it home.  The tying goal came in basically the 93rd of a game that was supported to only have 3 minutes of stoppage time, despite two VERY drawn out injuries to Ecuadorian players.  When the supporters at the opposite end of the pitch realized that the ball was in the back of the net in the final moments of the match it led to an eruption of noise that would not stop until several minutes after that match was over and the players had left.  Ecuador's goals both came early in the half and were probably due to poor defending on the Canadians parts.  Firstly leaving the undersized Christian Benitez unmarked on a corner to head the ball in and then De Guzman failing to close down leading to a 30 yard strike being curled into the top corner by Michael Arroyo.  Canadian keeper Milan Borjan was left rooted to his spot as the strike either had an impressive curl on it or it was taken by the wind and pushed in to the top corner.  Either way though it was an impressive strike which silenced that Canadian fans for about 30 seconds before they got right back to encouraging the team to push forward for the eventual equalizer.

Having already read a few interviews with players it is clear that seeming their home field filled with so much yellow was a tough thing to take.  These players are so proud to pull on the Canadian jersey but for them it must really be starting to feel like there is nothing they can do to win over the support of their countrymen.  If there home games look like that then there really is no advantage for them since last night we might as well have been in Ecuador with them outnumbering the Canadians maybe 6 to 1.  The one nice thing though is that the Canadian players embraced the few of us that were there.  First when Dunfield scored he jumped the boards and came over to be embraced by the Canadian fans in the front rows.  He was then followed by basically every other Canadian player besides the keeper who all seemed compelled to come and party with a section of red and white clad folks who couldn't stop jumping and cheering.  Again on the second goal the Canadian keeper turned and ran back towards the supporters and seemed compelled to come and party with us which I do not blame him for.

Now I have to get back to the rant that I promised I would delay.  The fact is that if I had the time of my life at this game and if a couple of hundred fans could do their country so proud then what is stopping the rest of you from coming out.  The "Support Local Soccer" campaign was very much present at the match last night and granted it is still in its early stages but I would have liked to see it have a greater impact.  I know that a lot of the Canadian press had a hard time making sense of the crowd at last nights came with so many of them spending much of their match reports discussing the lack of fan presence.  For people who truly do care about the national team it must be hard to understand.  I would bet that if anyone, like myself and my brother, came to this game to give it a chance they will be back again the first chance they get.  The match experience was so good, the weather was perfect, the game didn't go that late, and the tickets were affordable but despite that I guess you all had excuses for why you were not there.  Well guess what I do not want to hear anyones excuses for why they can not come out and supporter their national team.  If you claim to love your country and you also claim to love soccer then you just have to come to a Canadian mens national team.  I personally guarantee that you will not regret doing so.  I do understand that we are a multi-cultural country and that many of us hold on to our roots but when you consider that 1/4 of a million people play soccer in the greater Toronto area I would like to think that 20,000 of them would enjoy coming to a game like this.  So if you coach a minor soccer team or are involved with a club try and bring them out next time because they will have the time of their lives and it will only increase their love of the game which is what we all want.  I saw a team from Oakville soccer club last night and the kids were having so much fun, loving the game, and being proud Canadians.  It seemed like last night was one that they were going to remember for quite a long time.

I could sit here now and respond to the normal excuses that people tend to give but Gerry Dobson already did that for me and I fully agree with what he wrote here: http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/2011/06/02/dobson_canada_ecuador/
He may not be my personal favourite analyst of the game but here I am in complete agreement with him. If 10,000 or so Ecuadorian fans knew there was a game going on and were able to get tickets to it and bring their kids along then why do Canadians seem to think that they have an excuse for not being there?

I will challenge the Canadian and Ontario soccer associations to do a better job.  Lets promote these games to death and have them all over the place so that there is no room for debate about people not knowing there was a match going on.  Every time you turn on a Canadian tv channel in the Toronto area, or wherever the next match is, you should see a commercial advertising the game.  I know that kind of promotion would be a greater investment on their part but getting a true home field advantage will only help the success of the national teams in the long run.  As for the OSA I would task you of setting up a widely available discount group rate for teams in your member clubs.  These kids are the future of the sport in our country and getting them to games would be priceless in terms of what it would do for their excitement and passion.  If the Canadian supporters groups can get a deal set up for $17 dollar tickets I would like to think that the OSA and CSA could have set up something even better to bring out even just a couple hundred more kids teams.

If you want a little bit more to read/watch about the match go and check out the stuff that the guys from The Score's Footy Show have put up.  Kristian Jack's article for example is a very worthwhile read: http://blogs.thescore.com/footyblog/2011/06/01/canada-2-2-ecuador/

Oh and next post here comes my better photos from the match!!!

Support Local Soccer Campaign

A friend of mine on facebook posted the link to this video and I felt that it would be fitting for me to talk about on here.  Myself and my brother have recently begun our own quest to support local soccer in the form of being more committed to Canada's mens national team as well as getting behind Toronto FC in some way even if it has only begun with occasionally taken the time to watch a game on tv or following the Nutrilite Championship as well as my brother picking up a TFC kit even if it was on for a great sale price.  The fact is that for much of our lives as supporters we have only backed Manchester United as our club team and the Netherlands in internationals.  We will of course not be stopping with our support of them but we can do that as well as put more in to local soccer.  For me this is a matter of necessity since the best way to grow the game at a local level is to get behind it.  Toronto FC might not play the best soccer in the world and the games might not be as entertaining to watch but the fact is that they have increased the profile of the game greatly since joining the MLS.

The thing with this video that first struck me is that the opening commenter states that local football arrived in 2007 but that is not true.  It arrived at a new and higher level but it was not the first pro or semi-pro team in the country.  What TFC has done is provide Canada with a club at a level that felt worth putting our backing behind since it was in a league that we could see as being important.  For me the point of the video is not to call people to support any club but to start to care about Canada.  Many children now play soccer in this country so it is time that we all start to cheer for the national team.  We are Canadians and we can back our hockey team with so much pride and passion so why can we not do the same for the soccer team.

My biggest hope is that on June 1st when I go to the game I am greeted by a see of red and a stadium that is full of pride and patriotism.  It would be a shame to get to BMO field only to see that it is filled with Ecuador's colours and people who are Canadians but have chosen to put their support behind the visit side since that is where their background is.  There is nothing wrong with having a soft spot for the country where your roots are or even where your ancestors called home but if you are Canadian and you like soccer then you should consider getting behind the Canadian teams.

I will admit that I am never going to give up supporting Manchester United in favour of supporting TFC but what I am hoping to do is play my part in helping to grow the game in my country and if going to a game now and then or buying a shirt can do that then I am in.  I will admit that I am extremely excited to finally go and see a soccer game at such a high level and it has taken me far to long to do so.  The hope is that this experience does not let me down and in the future I hope that my stories of going to this game will allow me to convince others to come with me to support team Canada and Toronto FC.

Nutrilite Cup: Is Professional Soccer moving forward in Canada?

So tomorrow night, May 18th, is the first leg of the Nutrilite Cup which is the corporate sponsor name for the Canadian Soccer Championship.  In past years this cup has been a bit of a joke as it has only included 3 teams, Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps and the Montreal Impact and the format was basically that of a group stage so there was no winner takes all show down at the end and as a result the tournament lacked a real level of excitement in my opinion.  That was made worse by the fact that Toronto FC was an MLS team and they were competing against teams from a level lower that they really should have been far superior to.  In the end the 2010 edition of the Cup was exciting as Toronto FC needed to claim a massive win on the last day to win the prize but up until that last match it was dull and doubt it won over to many new fans.

This year things have been much different.  FC Edmonton have been included and the format has been completely revised.  The addition of the 4th team allowed a shift to two round format with both rounds featuring two legs.  In the first semi-final match up Toronto FC cruised to a win over FC Edmonton which should come as no real surprise due to the gap between the levels of the two teams.  On the other side the match between Vancouver Whitecaps, who are now in the MLS, took on Montreal Impact who will be the third Canadian team in the MLS next season.  This tie was a very exciting one with the White Caps winning the first leg on the road it set up for an exciting second leg.  To be honest the only reason that I ended up tuning in to the second leg of this one was the timing.  Since the game was in Vancouver it kicked off at 10 pm for me and by that time there was nothing else on tv and I decided to give the match a try.  It was a dull on for much of the game but in the dying moments Montreal started to try and get the goal that they needed and things really opened up.  Partially as a result of the lack of quality in the sides it seemed that once things got opened up the teams struggled to calm them down at all.  It made for exciting viewing as a neutral with Montreal drawing level in the 83rd minute thanks to Canadian international Ali Gerba.  Vancouver would go on to win the match in extra time thanks to a 100th minute strike but what really struck me was the way in which the extra time went.  I am used to seeing times completely shut things down after they score but this time it seemed that the Vancouver goal only opened things up more as Montreal created several chances of their own.

The semi-final results set up what is probably the final which most fans would have expected with both of the MLS teams managing to advance.  Toronto FC and Vancouver opened the MLS campaign against each other earlier this spring when they met in Vancouver.  That was a very exciting game with Vancouver come out on top 4-2 but again it was marked with the sort of sloppy defending that seems to have characterized games that involve Vancouver this season.  Since that game both teams have really struggled in their MLS campaigns as Toronto FC have only collected 2 wins in 11 matches while Vancouver have failed to win in their 7 matches since that opening night.

On that opening night of the season there was a real sense of excitement for the future of professional soccer in Canada.  Empire Stadium in Vancouver was rocking and both teams went out and put on a show to match the spectacle of Vancouver being back at the highest level.  That excitement seems to have died down a fair bit since then though with both teams struggling to make any progress in the MLS.  For Vancouver that is understandable since it is their debut season but with Toronto FC being around for 5 seasons now fans are sure to be expecting better from the club.  The gap between these two sides seems to be fairly small and that should lead to these two games being fairly exciting.  The first leg will likely be a bit of a nervy affair with neither team wanting to do anything that could cost them the tie before the second game but they will both be looking to try and gain the upper hand.  I think that these two games might just be the best chance to witness what sort of foundation there is for Professional soccer in Canada.  Hopefully both stadiums are load and supportive and both sides come out and show what they can do.  This is the only trophy that either of these teams is going to get anywhere near so lets hope they go all out to try and win it.

Beyond the improving of the Nutrilite Championship the teams are all improving.  It was only 5 years ago that the MLS decided it was time to expand into Canada by including a team from Toronto and now they have added Vancouver and Montreal will join in 2012.  That will give Canada three teams at the highest level and hopefully that will increase the competition between them.  The creation of strong rivalries between these teams will only help increase the fan base for the clubs and get people more involved.  The team still have a long ways to go in terms of reaching the quality needed to win an MLS title or even compete for a playoff spot but with strong management in place and the foundations there it looks like the future is getting ever brighter.  I would like to say that optimistically in another 5 years Canada could be home to 3 of the better teams in the MLS.  This growth can only help to develop the grass roots program as well which could lead to more talented Canadians coming up through the ranks and if the clubs keep increasing in stature they might even be able to keep top Canadians from going over to Europe, at least for a while.